The Marketplace
by Wicked R
Summary: a couple of utopic oneshots that felt nice to imagine. J/E of course.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Marketplace  
Disclaimers: I don't own any pirate/ship and I don't wish to.  
Genre: family/vignette

Rating: nothing you should hide from.  
Summary/Set: some time after AWE. Gibbs runs into a surprise.

Pairing: Sparrabeth, big time.

Note: English is still not my first language and it will never be, no matter how long I stay in Scotland for.

From his place on the hill by the outside tables of the Palisadoes Inn, Captain Gibbs could watch the crowd mingling on the noisy market right below him. Sellers prompting potential customers to look at their produce, the water boy slushing the buckets past him, animals protesting being handled, it sounded and looked all different from the constant grinding of the waves and the endless blue of the Caribbean, so Joshamee Gibbs set out to spend the whole market day with his rum on the balcony. Besides, he didn't know many women in Port Royal and spotting a lonestanding wench on the market was as good of a place to start as any.

His eyes darted over the choices that he could approach later, there was a tall woman too, but she was too finely dressed to take any interest in him. He disregarded her till she turned. A bit older, a bit rounded, but still her, life was there in her movements as she lifted a piece of fabric and seemed to be waving at someone several steps away, a man holding a yearling, so she could show the product to him as well to see what he thought of it. Elizabeth Swann, the pirate king. What could've become of her? He stood to run down to talk to her before she disappeared among all those people again, he'd always wished he would see her one day, just like he wished Jack'd come back and reclaim the Pearl. It has been five years since he'd left telling him all of a sudden it was some important business he had to take care of, but not tell him what.

He was by the railing running down the side of the steps that would've taken him down to the stalls when the man Elizabeth was with, shifted, revealing more to him than just his back. There was hardly any sway in his walk, no dreadlocks or goathy, just long black hair and a mustache, no sash, no hat, no coat, just a white shirt. Yet Gibbs knew with utter certainty even from that distance it was Jack.

Jack, holding a little boy's hand, holding another in his arms, kissing Elizabeth and then giving her a little bag of money to pay for the purchases as the baby wailed in an attempt to get passed over to his mum as well. Elizabeth was busy paying, so the child settled back with Jack, hugging him by the neck. She smiled at ease and waved back at Jack, letting him know she'll be ready to go soon.

Gibbs was frozen mid step. He wasn't sure what to do now. Those two acted like a couple, a well oiled and loving couple and they had children! Jack was more or less shaven, looked sober and there was nothing about him that could've suggested to anyone he was a pirate, a captain, or even a sailor once. It was wonder that propelled him forward, he was going to surprise them, ask them what he was up to, drag him into the tavern at least for a little chat. He sneaked close, there were still a couple of stalls between them and as he was so intensely studying the vision of the family in marvel he would've been stepped on by a couple of hoofs if not for jumping behind a parapet at the last moment.

The hoofs came to a halt and the rider jumped off, James Norrington was heading straight towards Jack and Elizabeth too. The handshake between the two men was amicable, then the children did eventually get handed over to Elizabeth while James pulled Jack over to the side and under the very balcony Gibbs was sitting on only moments earlier. The navvy officer showed him some papers and after what seemed like a prolonged conversation to Gibbs, they shook hands again.

"You can't do this to me and the children, James," Gibbs could hear Elizabeth's voice as the family group accompanied James back to his horse, "how can you send my husband away when it'll be Christmas time?"

"Cause noone else is apt enough to steal it," James mounted his horse.

"It's good money, Lizzie," Jack answered as well, "as always," he winked at James, then stopped in his tracks when he spotted Gibbs, him being the only person who was facing in his direction. Jack squinted, then took a deep breath before he continued, "you can count on me James." He remained standing in the same place after the others moved on, looking straight at his old first mate. "Good bye Joshamee," he nodded at him, then quickened his pace to hold his wife by the hips as they walked towards the town hall.

The End.


	2. A Woman's Touch

Title: A Woman's Touch

Disclaimers: I don't own any pirate/ship and I don't wish to.  
Genre: Glimpse, oneshot.

Rating: PG  
Summary/Set/Pairing: a post AWE J/E moment. Just how I'd like it to be in a world of pirate utopia.

It was early, yet the crew was uncharacteristically busy and that without being ordered. It was the dawn after battle and everyone was happy with their respective shares from their latest raid, along with some little extra luxuries that they managed to acquire from the captured English merchant clipper the day before, such as waistcoats, shoes with silver buckles and most importantly the amount of olives, sugar, spiced wine, oil and grapes they came into the possession of. The cook was promising the best Solomon Grundi they had ever tasted and the smoke coming up from the direction of the brick hearth indicated he was well on his way with lunch, early as well. Everyone was working on producing a healthy appetite while occupied with the care and repair of the Black Pearl. The men knew how dangerous it was not to be the fastest ship in the Caribbean and so they set off to mend the few holes the Pearl suffered in the fight almost by themselves.

Gibbs, the first mate leisurely grazed his eyes over the carpenters and scrubbers, but only stopped to exchange a few words with the boatswain to see if the seam rubbers were used correctly. As good as it was to be the first one everyone turned to after Jack, he missed being in charge of the sails. However, his duty was to wake his superior up now. The captain seemed to have slept in, not unsurprising after the long duel with the captain of the English vessel that the fate of their raid finally came to, but the crew'd expect Jack to show himself in charge shouting obscenities at them at least once a day, so it was best if he followed his orders from last night and announced to his friend that the sun has indeed came up quite a long time ago. Yet when it came to knocking on the door, he hesitated. He'd always said that having women on board was unlucky, and rightly, it was, at least for him, that is. Cause what happened several times when he tried to tell Jack it was his turn at the helm, that a route had to be charted immediately, and most often when he'd report they were approaching land with a good pub in the harbor? Mrs. Elizabeth'd tell him off and remind him how Jack needed his rest, his dinner, fresh water or whatever else instead.

The gray haired pirate frowned, then got himself together reminding himself that Mrs. Elizabeth was just a wench, no matter how much she was also a pirate, a king, wife of the captain of the Flying Dutchman god forbid even mentioning that, daughter of a governor, a feisty warrior, public speaker and who knows what not. However, the soft knocking he felt himself brave for wasn't enough to elicit any response from inside the couple's cabin, so he gently pushed a door in. Just a crack, you could never know what those two were up to and he didn't want to embarrass himself or anyone with barging in, just in case they've forgotten to lock the door before getting intimate, as it has happened before.

Jack seemed to be asleep right enough. He was lying on his side with his legs pulled up, the love of his life lying right behind him on the bed, following the contours of his vaguely decently dressed body with hers.

Elizabeth was idly stroking his side with her palm, half awake, but with her eyes shut, lost in a world that was so obviously theirs and theirs only that Gibbs felt like intruding even just by looking at them. As much as it pained him to sometimes miss his favorite drinking partner in ports as Jack lately preferred to spend his time on markets looking for trinkets for his Lizzy, he had to admit the world as he knew it was split in two. There was the world from before she decided she would not wait for Will Turner on anisland, and there was after. After, when he had no concerns having to look after Jack, after, when even Jack's smallest toe ache was tended to, after when he didn't have to doubt Jack's sanity no more. There was a wholeness about two of them, a stronghold against the rest of the world, an imaginary bubble floating around them that even protected the Pearl. It felt uncomfortable to disturb this unspoken unity and therefore he turned around and tried to close the door. However, Elizabeth noticed him.

"Oh," she pulled the covers higher on herself and Jack as if nobody would've seen her standing on a gangplank in her undergarments just before being marooned, years ago now. "Something wrong?"

Gibbs looked away and shook his head, "it's just that...the time...I thought Jack would've wanted to know...well, however..." He finally backed out and blew the air out relieved before resorting to his rum. Surely he didn't need more than stammer anyway. Cause Mrs. Elizabeth'd take care of it, whatever it was if it had to do with Jack.

The End.


End file.
